


Got My Mind Set On You

by jokheiz



Series: Welcome to Sunshine's [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Diners, First Dates, Fluff, Incessant Teasing, Kissing, M/M, chensung scraps too, markren scraps, renmin wont let each other live
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 00:55:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18981886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jokheiz/pseuds/jokheiz
Summary: There was no way on earth that Jaemin would ever let his crush on Johnny's roommate turn into a one-year pine-fest, he wouldn't let himself pull a Taeyong. He'd take matters into his own hands, and if that meant scribbling his number on Yukhei's takeout order, then that's what he'd do.





	Got My Mind Set On You

**Author's Note:**

> hello its me with a rare pair oh boY,, im not sure how well this reads without reading part one of the Welcome To Sunshine's series but!! its up to you !! enjoy !!

“When are you going to get me Yukhei’s number?” Jaemin cornered his co-worker Taeyong in the employee break room at the diner they worked at, Sunshine’s. Taeyong had been sitting down enjoying his lunch break when Jaemin sauntered up to him.

“Why do I have to get it for you?” The older whined at him, his eyes not leaving his phone. Probably texting his boyfriend, Johnny.

“Because he’s Johnny’s roommate and  _ you see him all the time? _ I would ask him if I ever  _ saw _ him.”

Taeyong finally glanced up at the younger waiter, who had his hands leaned on the table, trying to look menacing. “Haven’t you only talked to him once? And I’m pretty sure the only word he’s ever said to you was  _ ‘thanks’ _ , so I’m not sure how this warrants me bothering him for my smitten co-worker to get his number.”

Jaemin rolled his eyes. “Says a man who spent an entire year pining after one of his regulars before doing anything about it. I’m already a step ahead of the single hopelessly-in-love-Taeyong that worked here two months ago.”

Turning beet red, Taeyong sighed, defeated. “Fine. I’ll talk to Johnny about it.”

Jaemin’s lips split into a beaming grin and he pumped his fist triumphantly. Taeyong shook his head and brought his attention back to his phone, his drained features coming back to life when seeing that Johnny had replied to him.

Jaemin bit his lip as he retreated from the break room, trying to contain his smile.

“What the hell are you planning?” Renjun stopped in his tracks on the way to the kitchen when he saw Jaemin’s face.

If Jaemin would have told him, Renjun would have scoffed at him and called him obsessed. Jaemin definitely wasn’t obsessed, if he would have seen Yukhei once on the street he would have thought he was gorgeous and moved on with his day.

But Yukhei was Johnny’s roommate, and Johnny used to be just a regular at Sunshine’s diner but now he was Taeyong’s boyfriend, which meant that Yukhei wasn’t just a face in a crowd, he was within reach, and Jaemin wanted to at least  _ try _ .

It had been weeks and Jaemin still couldn’t get the goofy grinned, husky voiced, tall, messy haired blonde out of his mind. He’d never felt this taken with someone before. And while he didn’t know who Yukhei was, that’s all he wanted to figure out.

He wanted to know what kind of things made Yukhei smile, what kind of things didn’t. What kind of things did he like to do for fun? And what kind of things he did when he was bored? He wanted to know if he giggled, if he chuckled, if he snorted or if he did all three. He wanted to know what TV shows were Yukhei’s favourite and what kind of friends he hung out with.

It was with horror Jaemin realized one night when laying in his bed, staring at the ceiling that he was beginning to sound exactly like Taeyong had when he’d met Johnny.

He’d violently flipped onto his side and stuffed his face into his pillow. There was no way he’d tell anyone this - _ especially _ not Renjun. He’d have to hide it behind his snarky smile.

“Nothing.” Jaemin smiled innocently, and Renjun rolled his eyes, continuing on his way. 

“I don’t believe you.” The young cook muttered under his breath.

Smile unfaltering, Jaemin took a deep breath and continued into the seating area of the diner, resuming his duty as waiter.

He checked up on a table of their regulars, an elderly couple that visited almost every day. The wife had once whispered to him that he was their favourite waiter in the diner, so he made extra certain that he was always available to wait on them whenever he worked.

Once he was assured that “Everything is wonderful Jaemin-ah, thank you.” Jaemin turned around only to be be met an inch away from the still new and not very sure of himself waiter, Jisung.

“Help me.” Jisung’s eyes were wide with fear.

Jaemin simply stared at him and blinked.

“Please,” Jisung started to chew on his upper lip. “Table fifteen. I can’t serve them.”

Jaemin made a point to make it obvious that he was looking over Jisung’s shoulder at table fifteen, where there were three young boys chatting away to each other.

“No, no, no, no,  _ no _ ,” Jisung panicked. “Don’t make it obvious you’re looking at them! Please, can you take that table for me?”

“Why?” Jaemin looked the younger waiter up and down, examining the rigidness in his body.

Jisung’s eyes flickered away, looking at anything but Jaemin’s curious face. 

“I… don’t like serving people my age.”

Jaemin took a quick glance at the three boys at table fifteen once more and then looked back at Jisung.

“Which one do you think is cute?”

If Jisung had been drinking water he would have spat it everywhere. He shook his head violently as he sputtered out variations of  _ no _ .

It only took a minute of Jaemin staring at him, arms crossed with one brow raised to get him to shyly admit it.

“The green haired one…” He mumbled.

Jaemin rolled his eyes, grabbed three menus from the counter and hooked his arm around Jisung’s shoulder, forcing him along as he approached table fifteen.

“Hello, and welcome to Sunshine’s!” Jaemin greeted the boys with his signature bright smile and passed them the menus. “My name is Jaemin and this is Jisung, he’ll be your waiter today. He’s still a little new so please be patient with him. Hope you enjoy your meals!”

And with that, he left the waiter standing there stuttering out his follow up greeting while Jaemin approached the serving window connected to the kitchen to wait on the upcoming dishes for his own tables.

Renjun passed him two plates of french toast from the kitchen and glanced out into the diner. “You really forced Jisung out there like that.”

Jaemin simply shrugged. “I’m gonna have to start charging cupid fees soon. No one else is allowed to date until I get to date until further notice.”

Renjun snorted. “Tell that to Kun.” 

“That’s not fair,” Jaemin pouted. “ _ I’m _ the one who got him to download a dating app in the first place.”   


 

*

It was almost a week later when Taeyong bursted into the break room, scurrying right up to Jaemin who was munching on one of his favourite sandwiches that Renjun often made. (There was loads of avocado in it and that’s all Jaemin cared about. It wasn’t the same when Renjun didn’t make it. Sorry Kun and Yuta.)

“Go serve booth three.”

Jaemin blinked and took a bite out of his beloved sandwich. “I’m on break.” As if the older waiter hadn’t noticed. 

Taeyong just stared at him and blinked back, obviously trying to send some sort of unspoken signal that Jaemin was just not receiving.

He chewed his bite slowly, the gears working in his head. “Isn’t booth three Johnny’s booth? Why do you want me to -”

Eyes widening and practically dropping the sandwich on his plate, Jaemin stood up, making his chair screech loudly as it scratched the floor. “He’s here?!”

“Go serve booth three!” Taeyong insisted once more. Jaemin had no idea why the man couldn’t just say  _ ‘Hey Yukhei’s here, go get him’ _ but he would take what he was getting, he owed it to Taeyong anyway.

Jaemin dashed out of the break room to the employee bathroom, where he quickly examined his face and fixed his hair. Once he was satisfied, he casually strolled out into the diner and pulled his notepad out as he approached booth three, currently occupied by Taeyong's boyfriend Johnny and his roommate, Yukhei.

"Welcome to Sunshine's," Jaemin flashed them his signature smile, but mainly had it aimed at Yukhei. The two had already been given menus to look over, presumably by Taeyong before he had run to go get Jaemin. "What can I start you guys off with?"

"I thought Yong usually served you." Yukhei looked at Johnny, not even answering Jaemin's question. His lip twitched but he didn't let his smile falter.

"I'm not going to get my boyfriend to serve me now that we're dating, Yukhei." Johnny scoffed and then smiled up at Jaemin. "I'll have a coffee."

It was at that moment that it occurred to Jaemin that he had never seen Johnny at the diner in the afternoon before, and that he was lying. Johnny didn't eat at the diner every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday anymore, simply because he saw Taeyong every day anyway, but when he did come to enjoy his favourite meal, Taeyong always served him, because he always had.

It was with absolute horror that Jaemin realized that Taeyong had planned this, and that Johnny was in on it. 

That would be the last time he would ever let anyone in the diner know even a fraction about what he thought about Yukhei. 

Which would end up being a lie, but it was his determination about it that counted.

 

*

 

“So?” Taeyong popped back into the break room, a too bright smile on his face. “How’d it go?”

His smile immediately fell when met with Jaemin’s glare.

“Horrible. Absolutely horrible.”

He was probably exaggerating, but it certainly didn’t feel like it.

“He barely even looked at me - just kept asking why you weren’t serving them and even then Johnny ordered for him - Ugh. He has absolutely no interest in me and my heart is broken.”

Taeyong raised an eyebrow and Jaemin shrugged his shoulders.

“Not literally - I’ll get over it. Let me mope and eat my sandwich that I was rudely taken away from.”

Taeyong had only said four words but when he left the break room without another Jaemin felt like he’d been scolded by his mother for being a drama queen, just from the expression Taeyong had given him.

He was allowed to be a little dramatic, it wasn’t like anything was going to come of his little cru- err, liking - ah, preference? For Johnny’s roommate. He was just nice to think about, that was all.

Jaemin shoved the rest of his abandoned sandwich into his mouth and wondered how soft Yukhei’s hands would be.

 

*

 

Jaemin didn’t think about Yukhei the rest of the week or the week after that.

(It was a lie he told to make himself feel better. Maybe it was getting worse and his thoughts and even dreams were beginning to be plagued by a certain roommate that paid him no attention.)

Jaemin was on his third week of _totally not thinking about Yukhei_ since seeing him with Johnny at the diner and was helping (more like pushing, forcing) Jisung to serve the green haired kid and his friends who kept showing up more and more often at the restaurant.

He hovered nearby, making sure Jisung didn’t stumble over himself  _ too  _ much but also to make sure no one else helped him. It meant that he was near the entrance door so while he observed, he greeted any customers that came in with his best and brightest smile.

The bell jingled as the door opened and Jaemin automatically turned to smile at the customer. “Hi! Welcome to -” His voice faltered and his smile fell for a second, completely taken off guard when he locked eyes with Yukhei entering the diner. 

He cleared his throat and managed to put his smile back on. “Hi. Welcome to Sunshine’s. How may I help you?”

“Yeah, I’d like to order some takeout.”

“Sure!” Jaemin handed him a menu, thankful his hands weren’t visibly shaking. He pulled out his pen and notebook and shamelessly watched as Yukhei looked over the menu. God he looked good. Was his voice always that low? He looked like he was biting back a smile, and Jaemin wished he would just unleash the full thing onto him. He’d probably faint.

To his surprise, Yukhei only took a minute to look over the menu before closing it. “What do you recommend?” His eyes were so big and god,  _ so damn cute _ , Jaemin thought to himself. His mouth opened and closed, gaping like a fish before realizing any one of his coworkers could be watching and would definitely make fun of him later, so he quickly gathered himself before they noticed.

“Well, my personal favourites are the subs and sandwiches - Yuta makes some mean fries and Renjun invented this beautiful sauce that goes with everything. There’s also some good soups too, or if you like hearty dinners we have some options for that. Our breakfast menu is also amazing but we don’t serve it after two, sadly.”

“I’ll just have whatever you usually get.” Yukhei handed back the menu with a smile that made Jaemin just want to melt. From getting none of his attention to this, it was almost too much to handle for Jaemin’s poor heart.

He managed to grin and wink at him. “It’ll be a surprise then. I’ll be right back.”

Jaemin slammed the piece of paper on the serving window counter that connected to the kitchen. Yuta looked up at him in surprise.

“Yukhei is here and he wants to order my favourite dish so I need you to make the best fries you’ve ever made in your entire life and Renjun I need you to do the same with the sandwich.  _ Please _ .”

There was a snort and Jaemin whipped his head to see Mark standing behind him, having just arrived for his shift. “Damn, you sound like Taeyong when Johnny first started coming here.”

Yuta snickered. “Maybe Yukhei will start coming around more frequently too. Maybe Jaemin has his own regular.”

“Shut up.” Jaemin willed his cheeks not to blush as he slyly looked back to the entrance, watching Yukhei type on his phone, his fluffy blonde hair falling into his eyes. It looked like he was biting the inside of his cheek, and Jaemin chewed at his lip, wondered why. 

When the food was finished being prepared and Jaemin packed it carefully into a brown paper takeout bag, he hesitated. Slowly pulling the container with the fries out of the bag, he took out his pen and without thinking twice for fear he’d stop himself, began writing his number on it. There was no way he was going to spend a year pining like Taeyong had, there was absolutely no way. He slid the container back into the bag and covered it up with a napkin before taking it over to Yukhei who had just finished paying.

“Here you go.” Jaemin smiled and was delighted when Yukhei smiled back at him just as brightly. “Hope you enjoy.”

Yukhei thanked him and headed towards the exit, slightly hitting his shoulder on the door on the way out and the only way he acknowledged it happened was Jaemin saw him lower his head, probably in embarrassment. Though Jaemin didn’t know what he had to be embarrassed about, he thought it was cute. Unless it hurt. He hoped it didn’t hurt.

He sighed and stared out the window of the diner, watching Yukhei’s retreating figure.

Jisung nudged him roughly, knocking him out of his trance.

“You were supposed to be helping me.” The younger waiter growled, cheeks pink, probably from having to talk to the green haired boy for longer than he could handle.

“Let me have this. I’ll probably never see or talk to him again.” Jaemin sighed dramatically.

 

*

 

It only turned out to be half true because the next day Jaemin woke up Renjun with a shriek.

“Renjun, Renjun, Renjun, Renjun!” He barged in to Renjun’s room, crawling onto his bed despite the other’s protests. “Renjun, Yukhei  _ texted _ me!”

Renjun groaned and covered his head with his blankets. “This is not what I agreed to when I moved in with you.”

“It’s what _ I  _ agreed to.” Their other roommate, Kunhang, leaned on the entrance to Renjun’s room, obviously also having been woken up by Jaemin’s yelling.

“This isn’t about you guys.” Jaemin urged, trying pull the covers off Renjun’s head. “He texted me.”

Renjun fought back just as harsh, struggling to keep the covers in his grip because Jaemin was stronger.

“Are you going to tell us what he said or not?” Kunhang was chuckling, probably thankful it wasn’t his bed Jaemin decided to pounce on.

“He said,” Jaemin stopped torturing Renjun and pulled out his phone to look at the text with sparkling eyes. “ _ Hi is this Jaemin? From Sunshine’s? _ ”

“That’s  _ it? _ You woke me up for  _ that? _ ” Renjun shrieked and promptly kicked Jaemin out of his bed.

Jaemin pouted and padded out to their kitchen, Kunhang following behind. “What are you going to reply?”

“I guess I should say it’s me… Wait, I’ve never told him my name. How did he know my name?”

Kunhang raised a brow. “You wear a nametag don’t you?”

Jaemin tried not to let his shoulders fall at the thought that it wasn’t magic and proof that Yukhei was his soulmate because he somehow knew his name. “That’s probably it.”

He stared at his phone before finally willing himself to type a message out.

 

**Jaemin [9:04AM]**

this is he!

 

He quickly shut his phone and put it on the counter. A minute passed by and he shot out his hand to take his phone again, quickly typing another message.

 

**Jaemin [9:05AM]**

how did u like the food?

 

He tossed his phone on the counter again, with too much force and almost making it fall to the ground if Kunhang hadn’t caught it. 

Jaemin waited another few minutes, unable to do anything, not even get up to eat breakfast until he saw his phone screen light up with a notification.

 

**Yukhei [9:08AM]**

god it was so good, i knew i could trust u

those fries? wow

i gotta come back soon to have more

 

Jaemin squealed loud enough for Renjun to groan audibly from his bedroom.

 

*

 

Texting Yukhei over the next few days was… an experience. One moment Jaemin would be curled into a ball trying not to scream and the next he’d have a wicked smile on his face, one that would scare even Yuta from trying to approach him.

He entered the diner for his afternoon shift and was immediately cornered by Jisung in the breakroom.

“Hey, your man showed up yesterday looking for you.”

Jaemin blinked at him. First of all, he really liked the sound of Jisung calling Yukhei his man, and second, Yukhei hadn’t mentioned he’d gone to the diner. Yesterday he’d been studying at home on his day off, though he realized it’s not like he told Yukhei his entire schedule.

“Are you joking with me since I don’t help you with - what did he say his name was? Chenle? Are you making fun of me because I won’t help you with him anymore?”

Jisung turned a bright shade of pink. “No! I’m telling the truth. He came in and asked for you and I told him you weren’t working so he left - didn’t even order anything. Ask Taeyong if you don’t believe me!” The young waiter stormed off before Jaemin could question him any further.

He scrambled to get his phone out of his pocket before he had to start his shift.

 

**Jaemin [2:28PM]**

hey!!

Jisungie told me you came by yesterday??

You didn’t tell me :c

 

Jaemin didn’t have enough time to wait for a reply so he stuffed his phone into his bag with a huff and put on his apron to start his shift.

Needless to say he was a bouncing mess when he got back to the breakroom for his break and saw a notification on his phone.

 

**Yukhei [2:33PM]**

i was embarrassed ><’

thought i could surprise u

but i failed D:

 

**Jaemin [5:02PM]**

omg just ask me next time and I’ll tell u when im workinggg

u left without getting food too??

Yukheiiiii~~

just tell me u want to see mee hehe

 

Jaemin’s heart almost leapt out of his chest when he got an instant reply.

 

**Yukhei [5:03PM]**

I WAS EMBARRASSED !!!!

tell me when u work so i dont embarrass myself again T_T

pretty sure ur coworker was laughing at me

the world is harsh,, a guy just wants to see his favourite waiter,,

 

**Jaemin [5:05PM]**

I’ve only served u once and u didn’t even look at me what r u talking abt

Favourite waiter bs

Pretty sure ur just using me for my dank taste in food

But i dont blame u !!

 

Jaemin put his phone down for a second before the screen lit up with a notification. His heart sank to the depths of his stomach when he read Yukhei’s message.

 

**Yukhei [5:05PM]**

can i call u?

 

Jaemin looked at the time. He had another ten minutes before his break ended. Would he be able to gather his strength after a phone call with Yukhei in time to go back to work? He guessed he would find out when his phone began to ring and Yukhei’s name flashed on the screen.

He cleared his throat before he answered. “Hello?”

“Hi.”

Jaemin gulped. He prayed no one would walk into the breakroom and see him this visibly nervous. “Why did you want to call me?”

There was a pause. “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?”

“You don’t think you’re my favourite waiter?”

Jaemin chuckled. “Well to be fair, I’ve never really served you except that one time with Johnny, and then the time for the takeout - and aside from this conversation right now we’ve never really talked outside of texting.”

Another pause. Jaemin’s leg bounced up and down while he waited.

“Huh.”

He waited for Yukhei to continue before saying anything.

“I guess… I guess we should change that.”

Jaemin smiled so wide he had to bite his lip or he might combust. He pulled his legs onto the chair he was sitting on and wrapped his arms around them, smiling into his knees.

“If you’re okay with that of course! I just - uh yeah, I meant it when I said I wanted to see you.”

Jaemin had no idea where this was coming from, he’d thought he was the one being way too forward in even writing his number on Yukhei’s takeout in the first place, he’d never thought he’d end up  _ here _ , with Yukhei pursuing  _ him _ . He’d have to let Renjun know he definitely had as much charm as he always boasted he did.

“Yeah, yeah, I’d love to.”

“Awesome.” Jaemin was pretty sure he could hear Yukhei grinning on the other end. “What did you want to do? God I didn’t actually think you’d say yes, I didn’t even  _ prepare _ , oh my god.”

Jaemin snickered, aware he was definitely pushing the limit for time as his break was almost over. “Why didn’t you think I’d say yes? _ I’m _ the one who gave  _ you  _ my number two weeks ago.”

“I know but you’re so - just - yeah. You make me nervous, okay?”

Jaemin grinned again, rolling his tongue over his bottom lip. “Good.”

There was a muffled noise that sounded like a strangled cry on Yukhei’s end.

“Sorry to end this so soon but I’ve actually stayed past my break. I’ll talk to you later, okay? And we’ll figure out what to do.” Jaemin never ever wanted to hang up the phone but if he didn’t get back out there the diner’s manager, Doyoung, would kill him.

“Alright,” Yukhei sounded like he was  _ pouting _ and Jaemin wanted to curl up into a ball. “Talk to you soon.”

Jaemin hung up after saying goodbye and shoved his face into his hands. “Oh my god, oh my god he’s  _ interested _ in me,  _ oh my god?! _ ”

His freakout was interrupted by Jisung who popped his head back into the breakroom. “Doyoung’s looking for you.”

Jaemin scrambled out of the breakroom and ignored the clattering of his chair when he knocked it to the ground.

 

*

 

“Okay wait, let me get this straight.” Renjun stopped Jaemin, hand on his chest to prevent him from leaving the diner before he had his answers. “Is this a date or an errand? You said you’re  _ picking him up from the mechanics? _ And then you’re going to bring him back to  _ his _ place so he can  _ dye your hair?  _ At what point is this a date to you? Also when did you even  _ get _ to this point? Haven’t you only met him like, once?”

Jaemin batted Renjun’s hand away and crossed his arms over his chest, defensive. “Just because  _ you  _ still can’t grow the balls to ask  _ Mark _ out -”

Renjun slapped him so hard across the chest that it had Jaemin recoiling back with a grunt. Sure, he probably shouldn’t have mentioned it with Mark standing only a few feet away but he didn’t expect to get hit that hard. Renjun must really like Mark.

As if being able to read his thoughts, Renjun pouted. “Shut up.”

“Whatever, I’m going to go on my  _ date  _ -” Jaemin didn’t mention that neither him or Yukhei actually called it a date but whatever, semantics. “-and I’m gonna have a great time and you can stand and watch a certain waiter through the kitchen window with that lovesick expression on your face.”

Renjun scowled and whipped him with the dish towel he always carried in his front pocket. Jaemin took that as his farewell and waved his fingers as he made his way out of the diner, a small hop in his step.

“Have fun on your date Jaemin!” Mark yelled right as he slipped out the door. Jaemin responded with a thumbs up and maybe a cheeky smile towards Renjun. If Mark got the hint, he had no idea, but he had a tall, gorgeous man to get to and he wasn’t going to keep him waiting.

Jaemin pulled up at the address Yukhei had sent him, a place called Moon Mechanics, and shot him a text saying he was there. When a reply didn’t come, Jaemin got out of his car and wandered into the shop. He peered into the garage to find three men huddled around the open hood of a car.

“Uh… Hi?” Jaemin didn’t see Yukhei’s floppy blonde hair anywhere, had he gone to the right address?

When the three men straightened up to look at him, one a little faster than the others, Jaemin realized Yukhei was there - but he’d chopped all of his hair off and was now sporting a short, ink black haircut that made him look less like a puppy and, well, more like a man.

Either way, Jaemin was still awed by how handsome he was.

“Jaemin!” Yukhei greeted him with the biggest smile Jaemin had ever seen and  _ oh god _ why couldn’t Yukhei have smiled at him like that _ sooner, _ Jaemin’s been missing out.

“You sound surprised to see me.”

“Yeah! Well, wait, no, I’m not but I just - uh, here,” Yukhei gestured to the two other men who both seemed to be trying their best not to laugh. “This is Taeil, the mechanic, and Yangyang, his apprentice, or something. Protogé? Whatever. Yangyang.”

Taeil nodded to Jaemin with a knowing smile and Yangyang lifted his chin towards him. “‘Sup.”

Jaemin smiled, greeted them and then looked to Yukhei and gave him an obvious once-over. He had grease stains on his shirt and some on his arms (though he wasn’t going to complain about his rolled up t-shirt sleeves exposing his biceps) and his hands were blackened around his fingers.

“Were you working on the car too?”

“No!” Yukhei’s hand jumped to the back of his neck but hovered, probably realizing he was going to get dirt all over himself. “Well, it - ugh, I got nervous while I was waiting so they helped distract me.”

Jaemin’s heart skipped a bit, and he couldn’t help but split into a smile. “I really make you nervous, huh?”

“Y-Yeah,” Yukhei’s gaze went from Jaemin’s eyes to his lips, to the ground, and then back to his eyes again. “Just a little.”

“You didn’t seem nervous when we first met?”

“That’s because I really don’t know how to act around cute boys and god you’re really cute - have I told you that? - anyways, Johnny told me that Taeyong said you thought I hated you which is  _ so  _ not true,  _ god _ I was just so flustered every time I saw you I just shut down and -”

Taeil clearing his throat had Yukhei realizing he was saying this all out loud in the company of other people. Jaemin shot the mechanic a look of  _ ‘why would you make him stop I was thoroughly enjoying that goddamn it’ _ that had him raising his hands in surrender.

First of all, Jaemin didn’t know if he was going to kill Taeyong for telling Johnny or if he was going to kiss him for it. He figured Johnny wouldn’t like it if he did kiss him, but oh well.

“Okay, well at least wash your hands. No matter how handsome someone might be I still don’t want grease stains in my car.”

Yukhei’s cheeks tinged pink as he grinned at the floor. Jaemin wholeheartedly ignored Yangyang’s exaggerated gagging noises and Taeil’s nudge to get him to stop.

 

*

 

Their date - or hangout - or whatever it was, it made Jaemin’s cheeks hurt he’d been smiling and laughing so much. Yukhei was very, very easy to get along with and Jaemin had a really good time picking his brain and asking him all the questions he’d always wanted to.

“Movies or TV?” 

“Movies all the way.” Yukhei was concentrating on coating every last piece of Jaemin’s now bleached hair in pink dye. “At least I don’t have to waste literal hours or days or years if a TV show ends up having a bad ending.” For a guy with large hands, he touched Jaemin’s head and neck very delicately.

“But sometimes the joy is in the journey! Not just the end destination!” 

“True, I guess it’s from all the movie marathon nights with Johnny that make me so movie biased - oh -” Jaemin could feel the brush stop moving on his head. “D-Did you want to come over for our next movie night? Taeyong always comes now and I like the guy but I really just feel like I’m third wheeling the entire time.”

Jaemin angled his face so he could look up at Yukhei - who was definitely blushing again. “So like… a double date?”

Somehow, some way, Yukhei turned even redder.

“Yeah, if that’s like - if you want that. ‘Cause I want it.”

Jaemin smiled at him, because that’s all Yukhei made him want to do. “Of course. You must really like me if you can ask me out like that while my head is covered in dye and I have pieces of tinfoil in my hair.”

Yukhei sputtered, almost dropping the brush and getting dye everywhere (he caught it before it could) and made a noise between a whine and a giggle.

“Smooth.”

Jaemin looked up to see Johnny by the front door of the apartment - obviously having been standing there for a while, just watching the embarrassed wreck that was his roommate.

“Shut up Johnny.” Yukhei muttered, intently continuing to brush Jaemin’s hair with dye.

“At least it didn’t take us a whole year.” Jaemin stuck his tongue out and the sound of Yukhei’s giggle made Jaemin’s chest warm.

Johnny sent Jaemin a glare and didn’t say anything more.

 

*

 

“Jaemin-ah! Look at your hair!” Jaemin’s favourite customers cooed and he let the wife touch his fluffy pink hair as much as she wanted to.

"Do you like it?" He asked while pouring the couple their coffee.

"Oh, I love it! What made you decide to turn it pink?"

"My friend!" Was all Jaemin said but the customer still got that glint in her eye that he saw in everyone else whenever he subtly mentioned Yukhei.

"Is that the boy you're always smiling about all the time?"

Jaemin rarely lost his cool in front of customers but he had to admit, he nearly dropped the coffee pot in the husband's lap.

"Maybe... Maybe that's him. Are you - Are you having your regulars?"

"Oh, look what you've done honey, you've flustered the poor boy!" The husband chuckled while his wife giggled behind her hand.

"Sorry, Jaemin-ah! Yes, the usual is fine, thank you." She motioned for Jaemin to come closer before he could scurry away with their order. "You better introduce me once you two get official!"

Jaemin could only imagine his cheeks were as pink as his hair as he brought the order to the serving window and Renjun rolled his eyes the moment he saw him. He didn’t think Kun’s sweet and knowing smile helped at all either.

“Your date with him is tonight, right?” The older cook asked.

“Does it really count as a date if Taeyong’s going to be there?” Renjun interjected, receiving a sharp look from Kun.

“It’s a double  _ date, _ Renjun - that’s still a date.”

“Yeah but,” Renjun wrinkled his nose. “What if Yukhei tries to kiss you? Can you imagine having your first kiss with him  _ while _ Taeyong’s in the room? Isn’t that weird?”

For the first time in his life - all the colour drained from Jaemin’s face and that had Renjun in a fit of laughter. The only thing Jaemin didn’t like about his feelings for Yukhei was that he and Renjun were on equal footing now - he could make fun of Jaemin just as much as Jaemin made fun of him about Mark.

But he had a point - Jaemin absolutely did  _ not _ want to kiss Yukhei in front of Taeyong or Johnny. That would just be -  _ god,  _ weird.

“Aren’t you two supposed to be cooking?” The two cooks ducked their head as Doyoung approached the serving window. He rested his elbow on the counter and looked Jaemin square in the eye. “Don’t kiss if you don’t want to.”

“What if I really want to?” Jaemin’s voice came out softer than usual, softer than he would have liked.

“Then do it. You don’t  _ have _ to do it in front of Taeyong.”

“But it’s a double date, they’ll be there-”

“Really? Taeyong and Johnny are gonna walk you to your car at the end of the night? Are you dating just Yukhei or all three of them?”

His manager had a point, a very good one.

"Okay," Jaemin exhaled, his nerves somewhat put to ease.

"At least you get to kiss someone, unlike these two." Doyoung cocked his head towards the cooks in the kitchen, who shouted in protest.

Jaemin, getting his groove back, sneered at Renjun. "Yeah? You want me to go and get Mark for you to kiss, huh?"

If Doyoung wasn't there Jaemin was pretty sure he would've had his customer's orders thrown all over him.

 

*

 

"Isn't this exciting?" Taeyong giggled as they waited at the diner for their takeout order to be finished.

"We couldn't have ordered takeout from any other place? It had to be  _ our _ diner?" Jaemin thought Taeyong was a little _ too  _ amused about going on a double date with him.

"You don't like our food?" Taeyong narrowed his eyes, accusing.

"No! I just don't feel good about Renjun preparing the food for my date. He's probably poisoning me." Especially after already teasing him so much about Mark.

" _ Our _ date."

Jaemin rolled his eyes. "I'm not correcting myself."

Taeyong huffed and mumbled the words over again. Jaemin almost had to remind himself why he'd even agreed to this in the first place. To go on a date with Yukhei. If he could get through the evening with Johnny and Taeyong there - then he could have all the next dates without them. Hopefully. If it went well.

He hoped it would go well.

"You'll be fine." Taeyong nudged him in the ribs softly before heading to the serving window to pick up their order. "Yukhei really likes you-"

"-for some reason-"

"Shush, Renjun. Anyways, he really likes you and you should see the smile he gets when you text him. In Johnny's words  _ 'he's a lovesick puppy that won't shut up about how cute Jaemin is or how he can't believe he's interested' _ ."

Jaemin tried his very best to ignore the butterflies in his stomach. "Poetic.”

He just couldn't believe it had worked out this well. He'd honestly been prepared for Yukhei to never look at him because he wasn't interested, not for him to just be  _ too nervous to look at him _ .

"Well," Renjun poked his head out of the serving window. "Good luck, I guess." He had a sour look on his face to play off all the times Jaemin had teased him that day but Jaemin knew he meant it. "Just don't leap on my bed the minute you get home to tell me about it."

Jaemin knew exactly what he was going to do the minute he got home.

"I'll meet you there?" Taeyong smiled at Jaemin reassuringly.

He nodded and they both got into their own cars. Jaemin could have gone over before Taeyong but... maybe he was a little nervous and maybe he was grateful that he had a familiar face. It wasn't his first time at Yukhei and Johnny's apartment but this time it was an official  _ date _ , so that made everything different.

If Taeyong noticed Jaemin was a little nervous - he didn't say anything, even when Jaemin waited in the apartment lobby for Taeyong to arrive and for them to go up the elevator together.

He was just making sure to be there in case Taeyong needed help bringing the food up. Yeah, that was it.

He adjusted the sleeves on his dark navy blue button up (it made his pink hair pop out more. And Yukhei liked his hair. And maybe it was an excuse to have one of the buttons by his collar undone), after knocking on the door to the apartment. There was scrambling on the other side and then a moment of silence. A few seconds passed by and the door finally opened to reveal Yukhei, trying not to smile (trying to be cool) in a simple grey but form fitting sweater and jeans.

Jaemin let Taeyong go in first because he had the food and also so he and Yukhei could have a little moment to themselves.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Jaemin was overwhelmed with the sudden urge to kiss the hell out of Yukhei but somehow restrained himself because he could hear Johnny and Taeyong talking in the kitchen.

He moved along through the entrance before he got any weaker and approached the couple.

"Oof, did Kun make this?" Johnny was practically making heart eyes as he uncapped the lid on his soup.

"Kun?" Jaemin could feel Yukhei right behind him. He sort of wanted to lean back on his chest, but god he couldn't do that (yet).

"You know Kun?" Jaemin turned to him and yeah, Yukhei definitely was standing very close, but he didn't ever remember Yukhei meeting Kun - or any of the other cooks.

"I don't think so, the name just sounds familiar." Yukhei shrugged it off. "C'mon Jaemin, let's go set up."

Setting up just meant arranging the coffee table so there was enough space to eat in front of the TV (Jaemin couldn't believe Taeyong let them do that) and making sure everyone had enough napkins so they wouldn't spill anything.

Jaemin and Yukhei settled on the couch, though Johnny almost kicked them off before Taeyong pointed out that Johnny had ordered soup and it was  _ definitely _ going to spill it everywhere. Jaemin was just happy he wasn't going to be paranoid about Johnny and Taeyong watching over them (literally) if they were the ones sitting on the floor. It meant he could probably sneak in a hand-hold or something.

"What are we watching?" Jaemin had been informed that it was Taeyong's turn to pick the movie.

"Nothing yet - it's almost seven-thirty."

Jaemin turned to Yukhei for an explanation of Johnny's words as they turned the TV and some commercials played.

" _ Jeopardy! _ ." A one-word answer and half an eye roll gave Jaemin the explanation he needed. Of course, Taeyong couldn't go a night without his beloved trivia show.

They were halfway through the episode, Jaemin already having finished dinner (beautiful steak sandwich, Renjun) when Yukhei leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"I once accidentally asked what would happen if Alex Trebek decided to leave the show and Johnny almost banned me from our apartment."

Jaemin snorted. "Poor Taeyong."

He expected Yukhei to move back to where he was, but he didn't. Instead, he pressed his side subtly against Jaemin's as they waited for the episode to end.

"I'm gonna fall asleep if this goes on any longer," Yukhei whispered again and Jaemin lightly hit his chest.

" _ Stop _ you're going to make me laugh at them."

He didn't want to ruin it for Taeyong and Johnny, who seemed to be having a great time guessing the answers of the quiz show. Or the questions, whichever way it was that this show worked. God, those two dorks were really meant for each other, weren't they?

Jaemin tried not to look at how their hands intertwined as they sat on the floor. Suddenly he wished he wasn't on the couch so he wouldn't have to see the other couple being, well, couple-y. It was just so much pressure - why did he agree to a double date as a first date with Yukhei and an  _ experienced _ couple?

Finally, the quiz show ended and Taeyong got up to insert a DVD in the player ("A movie not on Netflix?" Yukhei gasped. "Blasphemy.").

But Jaemin could only glare at the smirk on Taeyong’s face when the opening scene of  _ Moulin Rouge _ began to play.

Yukhei, apparently noticing Jaemin’s stiffness (since he was still pressed against him after all) turned to him with wide, questioning eyes.

“He chose my favourite movie.” Jaemin grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and trying to burn holes in the back of Taeyong’s skull as he sat back down on the floor and leaned against Johnny.

Jaemin’s favourite movie in the entire world was a dumb sappy corny musical that made him bawl every time he watched it - despite always knowing what happened at the end. Curse Taeyong.

Yukhei stayed silent, eyes on the screen at all times. Eventually Jaemin got sick of sitting upright and made himself more comfortable on the couch - which meant picking his feet up to lie down and lean his head against Yukhei, who didn’t protest whatsoever, naturally bringing his arm around Jaemin’s shoulders to secure him.

Hey, Jaemin thought, if he was going to cuddle and cry on the first date then he was going to do it comfortably.

What he had not been expecting was the gasp that came from Yukhei’s lips at the climax of the movie and the small sniffles that came from him later. Jaemin would have ignored it if he hadn’t been lying half on Yukhei’s chest - he could literally feel Yukhei’s shaky breath.

Jaemin looked up at him, Yukhei’s watery eyes mirroring his own.

“Are you gonna cry?” He whispered.

Yukhei gulped, looking down at him. “Maybe.”

“Me too.”

It would have been the perfect moment - had they not been on the brink of tears and if Johnny and Taeyong were not literally cuddling right in front of them - Johnny kissing Taeyong’s forehead.

Yukhei glanced at Jaemin’s lips and his heart sank to the bottom of his stomach because he couldn’t let it happen right then - so with all his might, Jaemin brought his hand up and pressed a finger to Yukhei’s approaching lips (oh my god,  _ soft _ ) to prevent him from coming any closer.

Jaemin had to look away before Yukhei’s small pout could change his mind. He brought his hand down and interlocked it with Yukhei’s, hopefully letting him know that yes, he was interested - just not right then. He was comforted by the feeling of Yukhei’s thumb stroking little circles on his skin.

Maybe it was because his mind was on other things but Jaemin succeeded in not crying for the first time in his life at the end of the movie. Yukhei on the other hand, had two tracks of tears stained on his cheeks when Jaemin looked up at him again.

“Why.” Yukhei was staring at Taeyong, looking utterly betrayed.

Taeyong simply shrugged. “It’s a good movie.”

Curse him.

Jaemin adjusted himself so he could reach up and gently wipe the tears off Yukhei’s cheeks and with the way Yukhei was looking at him - god Jaemin needed to kiss him and he needed to kiss him  _ now _ .

He faked a yawn. “I should probably get going.”

Yukhei pouted instantly. “Already?”

“I have to work tomorrow.” He did - but he didn’t really care. He detangled himself from Yukhei and got off the couch, Yukhei following him to the front door.

“Sorry you can’t stay any longer.” Yukhei seemed to hesitate before finally deciding to engulf Jaemin in a hug. He was very warm. “And sorry for crying… I swear I don’t usually cry on first dates.”

“What about second dates?” Jaemin quirked up a brow, arms still around Yukhei’s waist.

Yukhei began to grin. “Guess we’ll find out?”

Again - totally the perfect moment and they weren’t  _ next _ to Johnny or Taeyong but they were still  _ close _ .

Doyoung’s words of wisdom echoed in Jaemin’s head.

He slowly detached himself from Yukhei’s grip, opening the door and pausing while he looked back at Yukhei. “Aren’t you going to walk me to my car?”

Yukhei frowned, stumped - he was clearly ready for Jaemin to say goodbye. It took him a good few moments before Jaemin could see it visibly click on his face, shouting a quick “I’ll be back in a minute!” to the other couple before following Jaemin out of the apartment.

The elevator doors hadn’t even closed yet before Jaemin had pulled Yukhei in by his sweater. “You can kiss me now.” He breathed over Yukhei’s lips.

“Finally.” Yukhei practically growled before slotting their mouths together. 

Yukhei’s lips were warm, soft, and soon, wet and Jaemin sighed into their kiss because waiting until they were alone was definitely worth it.

Jaemin held the collar of Yukhei’s sweater tightly, keeping him close so he could fully chase after Yukhei’s lips when he needed to, so when Yukhei pulled back, Jaemin moved forward, kissing him again.

Yukhei grunted, pleasantly surprised before he managed to actually pull back to breathe. “Wait-” He panted, Jaemin’s nose hovering close to Yukhei’s chin because of his height - ready for more. “I wanted this to be romantic.”

“Walking me to my car isn’t romantic?”

The elevator dinged and opened its doors to the lobby. Jaemin pulled away (unwillingly) with a pout and lead Yukhei by the hand to where his car was parked. He turned to lean his backside on the door and brought Yukhei’s arm to wrap around his waist.

Instead of kissing him again like Jaemin wanted him to, Yukhei pressed their foreheads together, inhaling deeply. “I’m so dumb, this shouldn’t have been our first official date - can we ignore it? Can I take you on an  _ official _ official one - just us, so we can do this right?”

“Of course,” Jaemin smiled up at him, playing with the hem of Yukhei’s collar. “Wait - so does that make us officially not dating and about to date or -  _ god _ , what I’m asking is, am I still allowed to kiss you?”

Yukhei chuckled, a deep rumble that made Jaemin’s breath hitch as he came closer. “Yeah,” His breath ghosted over Jaemin’s lips and sent a shiver down his spine. “Yeah, you are.”

Jaemin closed the distance between them and made sure it was a kiss Yukhei wouldn’t forget. He pulled away with a happy sigh, and Yukhei grinned at him.

“You sound relieved.”

“Yeah,” Jaemin shrugged, biting his lip to contain some of his bright smile. “Just glad I didn’t have to pine for a year before getting to this.”

“Oh my  _ god _ ,” Yukhei groaned. “Tell me about it. I had to pretend like I didn’t know Johnny was spending all of his money at one diner just for a boy for the longest time. And then I had to step on him to make him ask Taeyong out.”

“You… did what?”

“Don’t judge, it worked.”

“... I guess it did.”

And with a bright grin permanently making residence on his face, Jaemin happily stole another kiss from Yukhei.

 

*

 

“What’s up crybaby?” Had been Renjun’s way of greeting Yukhei ever since officially meeting.

“Can you stop that? Babe can you make him stop that?” Yukhei slid into the diner booth next to Jaemin, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and kissing his temple.

“Funny that you assume he has any power over me.” Renjun scoffed, but instantly brightened up when Mark arrived at their table.

“You guys are mean for making me serve you.” The waiter pouted.

“Listen, if we’re going to come into work to eat on our day off, we might as well get some amusement out of it.” Jaemin grinned. They were really just there because Renjun wanted to see Mark (of course) and Jaemin wasn’t going to let an opportunity like this just pass him by.

“Hey Mark,” Yukhei lightly tugged on Jaemin’s earlobe with his finger, their little signal. “We were wondering if you wanted to join Jaemin, Johnny, and Taeyong and I’s movie night next week? Renjun’s coming too, right Renjun?”

And with that, all the colour drained out of the cook’s face. Jaemin had to suppress a wild cackle.

“Movie night? Sounds dope! Just tell me when and where and I’ll be there!”

When Mark scurried off with their orders and Renjun dropped his head onto the table, Jaemin sighed, content. “Oh, he has no idea what he’s in for.”

“I can’t believe you guys just invited me on a  _ triple _ date.” Renjun groaned.

“But it’s a  _ date, _ isn’t it?”

“I hate you.”

Jaemin and Yukhei bursted into laughter, and Jaemin could see that from across the diner was the elderly couple he regularly served, looking over at the loud noise.

Jaemin swore he saw the wife wink, and he couldn’t help but turn as pink as his hair.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> [ Twitter ](https://twitter.com/jokheiz)
> 
> [ Curious Cat ](https://curiouscat.me/jokheiz)


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